"Where the will is set, no distance is too far; mountains and seas cannot limit it." In the tide of the times, there are always the brave who ride the waves forward and open up new frontiers. From November 26 to 29, bauma CHINA 2024 arrived as scheduled. At this grand gathering of the industry's top products and technologies, ACTIA (Shanghai) Automotive Electronic Equipment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as ACTIA China), as a wholly-owned subsidiary of France's ACTIA Group in China, fully demonstrated its core competitiveness in electronic and electrical architecture system integration and vehicle fault detection and diagnosis. The advanced technologies and solutions represented by the "ACTIA Mobile Machinery Dynamic Data Full Lifecycle Visualization Solution" made their debut at a Chinese construction machinery exhibition, allowing more people to understand the technical strength of this automotive electronics "top player" and its firm confidence in comprehensively entering the construction machinery industry. This point was felt especially deeply by the reporter when Zhang Xiaoping, Chairman and General Manager of ACTIA China, was interviewed by First Construction Machinery Network.

▲Zhang Xiaoping (left), Chairman and General Manager of ACTIA China, and Sun Yuwei (right), Editor-in-Chief of First Construction Machinery Network

ACTIA's Foundation:

Deep Group Roots and Technological Accumulation

ACTIA Group set sail in Toulouse, France in 1986. Its predecessor was a subsidiary of the Renault Group focused on automotive fault diagnosis, like a seed sprouting in the field of automotive electronics that gradually grew into a towering tree nourished by the years. With deep technological accumulation and profound insight into the industry, ACTIA Group is renowned in the automotive electronics field and has become a force that cannot be ignored in the industry.

▲ACTIA Group's Core Competitiveness

Zhang Xiaoping is thoroughly familiar with every development stage of ACTIA Group and ACTIA China. In 2003, ACTIA China emerged as a wholly-owned enterprise of France's ACTIA Group in China. Since its establishment, it has acted like a bridge, introducing advanced European automotive electronics technologies and concepts into China. From taking the lead in introducing automotive CAN bus and fault diagnosis technology in 2004, to launching the localization process in 2005, and then achieving mass installation in 2007, ACTIA China worked steadily in the bus sector and gradually established its position as an industry leader. Today, in China's high-end bus export data, four out of every ten buses are equipped with products from ACTIA China. This remarkable achievement is undoubtedly strong evidence of its outstanding quality and technical strength, making it the well-deserved leader of the bus industry.

ACTIA's Sharp Edge:

Product and Market Advantages

"To do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools." ACTIA China's success in the bus sector benefits from its solid products and unique market advantages. Its products are known for high precision and high reliability, providing a solid guarantee for the safe operation and efficient performance of buses. On the path of technological innovation, ACTIA China has never stopped, continuously investing R&D resources to improve the intelligence level of its products to meet increasingly stringent market demands.

From the broader perspective of mobile machinery, ACTIA Group demonstrates strong technological versatility and adaptability. Whether for on-road or off-road mobile machinery, the core technical issues they face—networking and cybersecurity of electronic control units—are highly similar. With its rich experience and mature technical solutions accumulated in the automotive industry, ACTIA can quickly migrate them to the construction machinery field and effectively address challenges such as sealing and heat dissipation under harsh working conditions. This technological synergy gives ACTIA a preemptive edge in competition in the construction machinery market.

▲ACTIA's Off-road Machinery System Solutions

In the field of off-road mobile machinery, ACTIA China has actively explored and successfully developed a number of core products suitable forexcavators, cranes and transfer machinery, including electro-hydraulic controllers, main control instruments, and telematics gateways. These products feature excellent performance, high integration, and flexible customization, and have won widespread praise in the market.

"The ACTIA Mobile Machinery Dynamic Data Full Lifecycle Visualization Solution released at the exhibition is precisely based on ACTIA's long-term accumulation in electronic information and control system integration. By building an efficient and secure electronic and electrical architecture, it achieves full lifecycle data management," Zhang Xiaoping told the reporter. "This innovative initiative not only brings tangible economic benefits to enterprises, but also provides a precise sample for the digital transformation of the entire industry."

▲Launch Event of the ACTIA Mobile Machinery Dynamic Data Full Lifecycle Visualization Solution

ACTIA's Courage and Resolve:

Determination to Enter the Construction Machinery Market

ACTIA is the undisputed leader in the bus and public transit bus sectors, but after all, the market capacity of buses and public transit buses is limited. In recent years, the construction machinery market has been affected by many unfavorable factors such as the economic downturn cycle, global supply chain shortages, and the pandemic, and is no longer as prosperous as before. Sales of iconic products such as excavators andloaders have declined, but ACTIA China keenly captured the potential and opportunities beneath the surface of the market. After in-depth research and prudent analysis, ACTIA resolutely decided to enter this challenging field.

If the heart faces the sun, all things shine. ACTIA Group has long been deeply engaged in the global off-road mobile machinery market and has accumulated rich industry experience and market resources. For ACTIA, the off-road mobile machinery market is not an unfamiliar wilderness, but a fertile land waiting to be cultivated. "The successful practice of the group's U.S. branch in the field of yacht electronification further proves its outstanding strength and broad adaptability in mobile machinery electronic control technology." Zhang Xiaoping's example was very persuasive. Based on firm confidence in its own technical strength and market prospects, ACTIA China is determined to open up a larger battlefield in the construction machinery market and write more glories.

▲ACTIA's Core Products

During the exchange, Zhang Xiaoping specifically mentioned the trend toward large-scale mining equipment and autonomous driving technology. He pointed out that mining truck companies are targeting the development of autonomous driving technology, because this will greatlyimprove the return on investment for mining operating enterprises. However, autonomous driving of mining trucks cannot simply apply the unmanned technology route of road transport vehicles. ACTIA is working with partners to study a technical route suitable for mining trucks, striving to achieve breakthroughs in this field.

In addition, Zhang Xiaoping further emphasized the importance of cybersecurity. With the trend toward networking of mobile machinery, cybersecurity issues are becoming increasingly prominent. As an international enterprise, ACTIA is very familiar with foreign cybersecurity requirements and certification methods. ACTIA has successfully helped mainstream domestic bus enterprises pass European cybersecurity standard certification, enabling these enterprises to export their products to foreign markets without obstacles. Similarly, ACTIA will also leverage this advantage in the construction machinery field to provide strong and decisive support for the internationalization strategies of industry enterprises.

▲Zhang Xiaoping, Chairman and General Manager of ACTIA China

ACTIA's Strategy:

Wisdom in Dealing with Difficulties

Mountains become majestic through their steepness; seas become magnificent through their surging. ACTIA China knows well that the road to entering the construction machinery market is by no means smooth and will inevitably face many difficulties and challenges, and the shadow of price wars is one of them. In a market environment of overcapacity, price involution often becomes a "shortcut" for enterprise competition, but ACTIA China resolutely rejects such short-sighted behavior. Zhang Xiaoping's attitude on this is very firm.

"ACTIA China upholds its unique business philosophy, building a solid market competition barrier on the foundation of product quality, core values, and comprehensive services. On the product side, we insist on high-quality output to ensure that every product can withstand market scrutiny; on the service side, we provide full lifecycle services ranging from professional pre-sales consultation and efficient in-sales coordination to considerate after-sales maintenance, so that customers can feel ACTIA's professionalism and value at every stage." Zhang Xiaoping patiently explained to the reporter. Through this differentiated competition strategy, ACTIA China is committed to establishing long-term and stable cooperative relationships with customers and winning market share through value creation rather than relying solely on price competition.

In the practice of export markets, ACTIA China has accumulated valuable successful experience. Facing the stringent quality requirements of foreign customers, ACTIA China uses high-end products as its entry point and, with outstanding quality and excellent service, has established a good brand image in the international market. In the construction machinery field, ACTIA China will also continue this successful model, taking high-quality products as the guide, steadily expanding its overseas market footprint, and contributing to the internationalization process of China's construction machinery industry.

▲Visitors Experiencing ACTIA's ACTIVI Digital Cockpit On-site

ACTIA's Vision:

Future Development Direction and Philosophy

"The road ahead is long and has no ending; I will search high and low." This saying not only depicts the difficulty of pursuing truth, but also reflects ACTIA China's firmness and perseverance on its development path. As a "top player" in the automotive electronics field, ACTIA China has not only anchored ambitious development goals—to become a mainstay of the mobile machinery industry, a strategic partner of OEMs, and a capable assistant to users—but also regards corporate social responsibility as a top priority in enterprise development. On this journey, ACTIA will always practice placing corporate social responsibility first and regard employees and customers as the core driving force of enterprise development.

In ACTIA China's philosophy, corporate social responsibility is not empty talk, but concrete action. This is reflected in its care for employees. The company believes that employees are the most valuable asset of an enterprise, and their happiness and satisfaction directly affect the company's innovation capability and service quality, while also bringing the company higher work efficiency and stronger market competitiveness. For customers, ACTIA China always adheres to being customer-demand-oriented and provides high-quality products and services. The company knows well that only by truly solving customer pain points and improving customer experience can it remain invincible in fierce market competition. Therefore, ACTIA China continuously invests in R&D and promotes technological innovation to ensure that its products can meet the latest market demands and provide customers with full lifecycle services. The so-called people-oriented approach thus returns to ACTIA's development philosophy: being guided by customer needs and serving the market with advanced technological products.

In the tide of technological innovation, ACTIA China will always maintain keen insight and active execution. It closely monitors cutting-edge industry technology trends, such as the application trends of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and big data in the mobile machinery field, arranges R&D resources in advance, and accelerates the transformation of technological achievements. Through continuous innovation, it constantly improves the intelligence and automation level of its products, provides customers with more efficient, safer, and more environmentally friendly mobile machinery solutions, and helps the industry achieve transformation and upgrading.